Rain's Truth
by Nakira.Taisho
Summary: I no longer use this site, see my profile for links to my rewritten works.
1. Mistaken

**1- Mistaken**

So I'm not totally rewriting this series, I'm just doing some much needed editing. And I'll be making the chapters a bit longer…so yea, and it's also just easier to make a 'new story' than have everyone that's read this story already miss out on the new stuff. Again, I'm not changing much, just adding details to make it better and easier to read—I was rereading through it and couldn't make sense of some parts, and I'm the one that wrote the stupid story…that's really sad.

. . .

"You're not getting away!" I glance over my shoulder and see that _they're_ closing the distance. Why are they even chasing me? Besides the fact that I'm probably the one that…I shake my head and keep running.

"Stupid idiot! Get back here!" I look back again and start running backwards, running through a few hand signs. At this rate, I'll get caught!

"Get away!" I shriek, using an earth technique to pull a wall of rock up to slow them down. I turn around and spot the river and the line of trees on the other side. That's the Land of Fire border! Once I get over there, those guys can't do anything. When I get to the river, I swim across and hide behind a tree to catch my breath. I glance around the tree to see that the two ninja have stopped chasing me—the probably figure I'm either drowning in the river or already over here. I sigh in relief, but try not to relax.

"I wonder why those guys were chasing that kid." I stiffen and try to figure out where the speaker is. "He looked about six. Isn't your little brother about that age now?" I look around the tree and spot two guys wearing Hitai-ate. That's not good.

"How cruel. They were Amegakure, so I understand though. I wonder where the kid disappeared to." Who are they? Their outfits look almost like Black Ops. And I'm stuck. If I move to run, they'll find me. What am I going to do? I look down at myself, thinking of something. The one guy either thought I'm a boy or he was using 'he' as a general term. I know I'm kind of a tomboy, but I kind of thought it was always kind of obvious that I'm a girl.

"Hey, I think I see someone." The first guy says, looking straight ahead—away from me. I can also see a sort of crest on his shoulder, a red flame inside a yellow circle…?

"In your blind spot, Hyuuga?" The other asks and I blink. Hyuuga…? The Byakugan, that's how he can see me even though he's looking the other way—if it's me he can see at least.

"I can see a shoulder. The rest of the person is in my blind spot, yes." I am so dead if they find out why I was running from those guys. I look at my hand and trace the scab forming from that cut. What happened back there…? Did I really—I shake my head and try to get an idea about the other guy. There's a weird circle—kind of looks like a festival balloon actually—blue on top and the line and lower part of the circle is white. Mom never got the chance to teach me the family crests from the Land of Fire.

"Come on out, we've spotted you." The second guy turns and I see that his eyes are red. Is that…the famous Sharingan? Oh, I'm really dead if this turns into a fight. I may not know the _crests_ that mark the clans, but I know the names.

Hyuuga and Uchiha—the only known family with the feared Sharingan—up against members of those two clans I'd be dead in two seconds flat. Though if my gut feeling is right and I'm really the one that just slaughtered my whole family…I'd deserve it. I take a deep breath and step out from behind the tree. "What's wrong, kid? Why were those guys chasing you?" Just like when the other guys started asking me questions, I can't find my voice. I'm petrified, unable to move or speak…heck, I'm barely managing to breathe.

"Hey, Uchiha, you're scaring him." So he thinks I'm a boy. I try to argue that I'm a girl, not a boy, but my mouth won't cooperate with me and open.

"Sorry. Hey kid, what's wrong?" I swallow a little and again try to answer saying that they just started chasing me after I got away from a slaughter…but I'm sure he'd be able to see through the partial lie. Thankfully, Uchiha gives me a bit of space and Hyuuga crouches about an arm's length away from me.

"Hey, you must be tired from running from those guys. Uchiha, you finish the patrol, I'll take this guy to the village to rest." He looks at Uchiha, who nods once and walks off. Hyuuga then helps me climb onto his back and starts walking through the trees. "That was a pretty strong jutsu you used back there. You okay?" I nod a little and he smiled at me over his shoulder. "Can you talk?"

I nod again. I kind of like him. He's really nice. Maybe he has a sibling or a cousin he's close to that's my age. "You must be really scared then, if you can't say anything." I nod yet again. I see a wall come into view after a while and he stops walking.

He goes through a door in the wall and takes me into the village. So this is Konoha…? "Hey, I'll take you to my place so you can rest. Later, you can tell us what happened back there. Okay?" I smile a little and internally thank my parents for teaching me sign language. I give the sign for 'thank you' and he laughs a little. "I'm Hyuuga Hiro, by the way." I nod and he stops in front of a gate.

"Hiro-kun! You're home early." A girl greets us brightly.

"Ririn-san, please get Hiyashi-sama. I need to speak with him." She frowns a little and examines me for a moment.

"About that kid on your back?" Hiro nods and Ririn runs off. I frown a little.

"Who's Hiyashi-sama?" He laughs a little.

"I see you found your voice. He's the head of my clan. Uchiha will talk to the head of his family and then we'll speak with the Hokage about your living arrangements here." Living arrangements? Does that mean I might be able to stay here, without anyone knowing about what happened…? I nod and we go inside a small house off the main building. Hiro puts me down and I stare at the boy sitting on the bed across the room. He stares back at me.

"Who are you?" Well that was rude. His tone and expression are kind of scary, like he hates me even though he doesn't know my name.

"I-I-Izuri Ki-Kiro…" I stammer, suddenly wishing that my parents had given me a more feminine name. Well, with two older brothers I guess they couldn't think of anything for a girl. Hiro laughs a little in an obvious attempt to clear the tension a little.

"Neji-kun, you're only scaring Kiro-kun even more. He's had a rough day." Well, eventually I'm going to have to tell them I'm a girl…but I guess it can wait. At least until I'm comfortable enough with them to have that courage—I mean seriously, I'm six years old, the last of my family, and I was just chased halfway across a country by two black ops ninja who had no other real reason to do that than because I wouldn't answer a question or two and they had nothing else to do.

. . .

"Hey! Kiro-kun, you'll be late for class." I groan a little and roll over in the bed.

"Go away, Neji-kun…let me sleep." I really could care less about classes. My eyes snap open when the warmth of my blanket disappears from my feet. I gasp and pull my feet back under the covers before Neji can start tickling. I get up and glare at him. "Asshole." He shrugs and leaves.

I frown and get dressed, pausing when I notice a kind of obvious bump on my chest. Ugh I wish I'd managed to get up the courage to tell everyone that I'm not a guy. I swear I have to tighten the wrapping around my chest that conceals my oversized breasts everyday almost. It's a shock that no one—especially Neji—has noticed it.

Well, I've always been a tomboy and my figure is more masculine than feminine—minus the oversized breasts, I swear if I let those things out and got in any position other than upright I'd probably suffocate. Well, since I'm a chicken shit and haven't told anyone I'm a girl and not a boy, I just started wrapping my chest when I started growing last year—the monthly issue's a whole other story and it's a pain in the ass.

It sucks, looking in the mirror with my clothes on and my chest wrapped securely, that I actually _really_ look like a guy with long hair. Not like the guys in my class who could pass for girls if they put on a wig and dress, but like the Chunin and Jounin who are all muscular and brawny. Maybe there's a chemical imbalance in my body or something. Hell, I don't even look like I'm only twelve. I sigh a little to myself. Well, maybe as I get older my figure will get less rough and masculine.

I spot the Hitai-ate on my bedside table and remember what today is. Not an actual class, but my Genin orientation. Once I put that on, I'll be a real ninja and not just a student. The only problem is…the bleeding. It's been a while since I've bled, but I still need to be careful. I don't know if _it_ will happen again. I trace the little scar on my hand from six years ago.

To believe it's already been six years since I ran into Hiro and Itachi and came to Konoha. Also six years since Itachi slaughtered his own clan and disappeared…I still can't understand why he would do something like that. It's not like he has my problem…I can't treat my own wounds if someone's around. I don't even know if what causes it is someone else touching me after I see the blood or if it's just seeing the blood.

I shake my head and tie my long black hair back in a low ponytail. Today's too important to be brooding on the past. I force myself to smile and put my Hitai-ate on my forehead. Then I hurry out of the little house and then out of the compound. I wonder if Hinata's already at the school, I usually see her when I leave—heck, sometimes we walk to school together. Considering I'm a bit late, it wouldn't surprise me if she's already there.

. . .

When I get to the classroom, I sit in my usual seat beside Uchiha. He's the same as me, in the fact that he's the last surviving member of his clan—Itachi doesn't count. But he's lucky. He doesn't have to live every day knowing that he was responsible for the death of his family members. Knowing that if he gets hurt even slightly he could do the same thing again. I resist shaking my head. I decided not to brood today and by the gods I'm not going to brood.

"Excuse me." I look up and sigh when I see Haruno standing there. Can't she see the row's already full? I mean seriously, I'm sitting between Uchiha and Uzumaki.

"You want here?" She nods and smiles a little. I roll my eyes and stay seated. "Sorry, but I got here first." She glares at me. Does she really think that's going to scare me? "Got something you wanna say? Big-forehead-chan?" Her glare intensifies and she tries to punch me.

I block her fist about an inch away from my face. "_That_ would be a bad idea, unless you have a death wish." She swallows a little and squeezes in between me and Uzumaki. I face forward and lean on my hands.

I glance sideways at Uzumaki when I sense him glaring. Well, he's glaring at both me and Uchiha. He has a good reason to though, he failed the exam—the only reason he managed to graduate was because something happened over the weekend involving kage-bunshin. Honestly, Uchiha and I have both had top grades since I started in academy and all of the girls our age want to date one of us.

Ah, if only they knew I was a girl, they'd all feel really horrible for trying to flirt with me for the past six years. It's really sad that no one's had even the _slightest_ inclination that I'm a girl despite some of my 'girly habits'. Tapping on the desk in front of me startles me out of my thoughts and I look up to see Naruto crouched in front of me and glaring. Why me? "Buzz off."

"Naruto, you jerk! Leave Kiro-kun alone!" Okay…so either Haruno likes me as well as Uchiha—and has a thing for hitting someone she likes?—or she's just upset because Naruto's blocking her view of Uchiha. Freaking idiots, all of them.

"What do you want, Dobe?" He narrows his eyes and I glare right back at him. "Shoo." I hear someone apologize as Uzumaki pitches forward, landing on top of me in a heap on the floor, our lips locked. What is that strange sensation…? After a moment, he jumps up and gags. I sit up and hit him square in the face. "Bakayaro! What were you trying to do, freaking homo!" I get back in my seat as Uzumaki goes to his own.

"Naruto…you make me sick." I look over to see the girls that like me pounding Uzumaki to a pulp. Brutal. I look ahead as Iruka comes in and starts into a long-winded spill about being ninja now and all that good junk. I've heard it all before.

"We will begin by dividing you into three and four man cells. Each of which will be mentored by a Jounin who will guide and coach you as you become familiar with various assignments." Lovely. Teams like that will be over-tasked—especially teams with four members besides the instructor. "I made the cells so that each cell's abilities would be approximately equal." That sends the entire room into an uproar.

"WHAT?" He goes through the list and I listen for my name. Up to cell six, my name is not mentioned.

"Next, cell number seven. Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura…" Beside me, Haruno starts sulking and Uzumaki ecstatic.

"Yes!"

"Damn…" I almost laugh at them. What a way to react to becoming teammates.

"Izuri Kiro…" Damn. I glance over to see Haruno getting excited—though clearly afraid—and Uzumaki sulking. What a switch. But I seriously just got stuck with two of the most annoying people in the room. "And…Uchiha Sasuke."

"Chanaro!" Haruno squeals, actually jumping out of her seat this time.

"Double damn." Uzumaki stands up and slams his hands on the desk. "Iruka-sensei! What were you thinking of, saddling a most excellent Shinobi like myself with those two losers?" I roll my eyes. Such conceit. And all because he managed to learn kage-bunshin. I'd like to see those apparitions go up against my moku-bunshin, which are solid wood and don't disappear until I release the technique. Iruka sighs.

"Of the twenty eight of you, Sasuke and Kiro have the best grades, Naruto. You would be at the bottom of the class. The idea is to balance your strengths. That's why you ended up together!" Uchiha scoffs.

"Hn. Just don't drag me down, Dobe." Uzumaki whirls on him.

"What did you call me?" I sigh and put my head down as Haruno jumps into the fray.

"Knock it off, Naruto!" This is going to be such a nuisance. I just want to get this over with. Sure, I'll deal with it since that's how it has to be, but it's still gonna be a pain in the rear.

"Okay everyone. I'll be introducing your senior instructors this afternoon. Until then, you're dismissed." And with that, the room clears out. I head up to a room on the top floor and sit on the window sill to look out over the village. I think I've finally truly gotten used to how Konoha sprawls out with low buildings and all the trees over the close-together tall buildings and rain cover in Amegakure.


	2. Exposed

**2- Exposed**

So yea, like I said, all I'm doing is editing and making it more detailed and easier to read. _**THE ONLY THING I'M ADDING TO THIS IS DETAILS!**_ I'm serious about that. This isn't like my other rewrites where I'm going through and basically only using the original as a base for an improved version. I am _**ADDING**_ detail _to_ the original and not taking anything out unless it didn't originally make sense—and even with that it's only like a non-dialogue thing that doesn't really fit.

Oh, and another thing. I'm sure you noticed that I've cut the 'info chapter'. Until this revised version is complete, I'll have the original up, but like my other stories I'm trying to actually draw the character profiles and they'll eventually be found on my Deviant Art page—I'll add the links on my bio.

. . .

I touch my lips slightly as I stare out at the village. That strange feeling before…what was it? I've never been kissed before—even accidentally. I sigh a little, trying to stop thinking about it. What's that noise? I look down to see Uchiha sitting in a window on the floor below me. He disappears suddenly and the window slams closed. What the hell?

"Huh…? What's going on down there?" I almost jump out the window to investigate, but Uchiha comes back out after a minute and heads across the grounds. But something's not right. I sigh and close the window in front of me. I should investigate and see what happened.

I reach into my bag and pull out a dress that I always keep on hand for an emergency that requires me to 'disguise' myself. A pitch black knee length, open backed, long sleeved dress. I lock the door and change clothes quickly, letting out a heavy sigh of relief as I unwrap my chest.

Having to have it wrapped up all the time to keep Neji from seeing that his roommate is a girl makes it kind of hard. Even if it's only for a few minutes, it feels nice to take a break from being confined like that. I straighten up the dress when I get into it and put my Hitai-ate in my bag with my regular shirt and shorts. Then I pull my hair down and tousle it a bit. Hopefully no one will recognize me looking like this. I nod a little and leave the room.

I head to the room I saw Uchiha in and knock a little—just to be safe. When no answer comes, I frown a little and try the knob. It's not locked, so I open the door. I blink in surprise seeing Uchiha on the ground, tied up and a strip of tape covering his mouth. I snap out of the shock and release him. "What happened?"

"Naruto…who are you?" I laugh nervously and touch the back of my head. This is a little awkward.

"Well…" He blinks and frowns a little.

"Izuri?" So I guess this look isn't quite as foolproof as I thought. Either that, or he figured me out by my voice—since it's naturally kind of deep and boyish.

"Yea." He sits up and looks me over.

"Since when are you a girl?" I sigh and roll my eyes.

"Since I was born, Aho."

"Why do you always act like a guy then?" I give him a look.

"What did Uzumaki do?"

"The obvious." I nod slowly and look towards the window.

"Any idea what he's up to?" He shrugs.

"Not a clue. But I'm pretty pissed." Uchiha pauses. "Hey, did you cut yourself on something?" My eyes go wide.

"Huh?" He lifts an eyebrow incredulously.

"You're bleeding." I snap my eyes shut.

"Where?" I hear a note of panic in my voice, but I can't really stop that. Bad things almost always happen when I bleed.

"On your hand. What's wrong with you?" I groan in exasperation.

"Which hand? And you seriously don't want to know what's wrong with me."

"Your right hand…seriously, what's wrong? You can open your eyes." I shake my head a little.

"Is the blood gone?"

"No." He takes my hand and I jolt a little.

"Then I can't open my eyes. Get rid of it."

"The blood?" I nod and he brushes my fingers with his. "There. What's wrong with you all of a sudden?" I open my eyes and eye him.

"Can I trust you?" He frowns.

"What kind of question is that?" He pauses, realizing that it was his brother that helped find me and bring me here. I trusted Itachi—he'd helped to give me the life I have, weird as it is—and then he betrayed everyone in the village by killing his family. He lied to everyone, including me. "Look, I'm nothing like him." I nod once.

"I know that." Seriously, Uchiha and I have kind of been friends—despite not being on a first name basis—since I got to Konoha. "But still. Even the Hokage doesn't know this. If I tell you, and you betray me…I'll have to kill you." He nods, understanding—and probably a bit scared because he knows I really would kill him if he were to betray me.

"You can trust me." I smile a little, satisfied with that.

"Okay. But this isn't the time. For now, if I see my own blood, and someone touches me, most likely at least that person will die." And now he's really terrified.

"Why did you change clothes?" I smirk at his swift change of the subject—maybe because he's realized that if I hadn't kept my eyes closed a minute ago, he could be dead right now.

"I was going to find and talk to Uzumaki. Since he obviously dislikes me, I figured that if I approached him like this, he'd be more inclined to talk."

"You're devious. But at this point, by the time you found him, you wouldn't have time for much of a conversation before we have to be back to meet our new sensei." He grimaces at the thought and I nod.

"I know. Um…we can talk later. Hm…" Let's see. Dinner is at six and they get upset when I'm late for a meal. It shouldn't take too long… "After the Jounin dismisses us. As long as I can be home by five forty-five." He frowns a little.

"Why then?" I sigh a little and give him a look.

"Dinner's at six." He laughs a little.

"The Hyuuga are real sticklers for punctuality, huh?" I nod and dust myself off.

"I should get changed. I'll see you in the classroom then, Uchiha." He gets up and dusts off as well.

"It's Sasuke." I frown, but nod once in response.

"Sasuke, then. See ya." I hurry out and run back upstairs. I really shouldn't have wasted time talking to him. I shake my head a little. It's too late to worry about that now. What's done is done. I hurry up and change clothes the moment I get in the room and head outside for some fresh air.

"Recess is over, where's that jerk Naruto?" Sasuke? I walk over to investigate. Oh, he's talking to Haruno.

"You're changing the subject again. Can't we get away from Naruto for one second? He always gets between is us. It's because he was badly brought up." What? I duck behind the wall and listen, curious about what she sees as being 'badly brought up'. Sasuke is looking over his shoulder at Haruno, hiding his curiosity very well I think.

"You mean, because he never had any parents?" Uzumaki's an orphan too? I didn't know that. Guess that's what I get for not paying attention to the dunce.

"He doesn't have to answer to anyone, ever, and it's made him completely selfish! If I did the kinds of things he gets away with, my parents would ground me for life." How can she say that? Having parents to nag at you…_real_ parents…is way better than being alone and not having anyone.

"Don't you envy him being alone, not having parents to nag at you all the time?" She folds her arms and sticks her nose in the air.

"Kids without families always grow up selfish." Now that crossed the line there! She's always had a family there. I'm lucky because the Hyuuga took me in, but seriously. I've never heard anything at all about Uzumaki's parents, so they probably died when he was a baby. He wouldn't even know what they looked like probably.

"That, and lonely." Sasuke sighs a bit and I nod a little in agreement. Even being with the Hyuuga, it's not my real family. Even if I look at people like Hiro and Neji as my brothers, it's not the same as it could have been if I was still in Amegakure…if I hadn't killed them all.

"What?"

"Being scolded by your folks doesn't even compare." And I'm brooding again. I shake my head to clear it and start backing up to go inside.

"What's gotten into you all of a sudden?" Sasuke glares at Haruno.

"You make me sick." And with that, he leaves. I see the look of pure shock and betrayal on Haruno's face as she drops onto the nearest bench. I roll my eyes and go inside. I head for the classroom and sit down, staring at the front of the room while I wait for everyone else to get back.


	3. Hatake Kakashi

**3- Hatake Kakashi**

Wow I used to write my chapters so _short_!

. . .

"What's taking so long? Iruka-sensei has even left." Uzumaki groans, grabbing an eraser from the black board at the front of the room and dragging a chair over to the door. What the heck is he up to?

"Hey! What are you up to, Naruto?" Haruno asks as Uzumaki climbs into the chair and sticks the eraser in the top of the door. Really? That's such an obvious booby trap that an elite Jounin would never fall for it. He jumps down and grins.

"It's what he gets for making us all wait!" It's only been an hour since Iruka left. Haruno scoffs and folds her arms.

"Grow up! I want no part of it." If you didn't want to be involved, then shut up in the first place, stupid girl. Sasuke sighs a little.

"No way could a superior Shinobi fall for such an obvious booby trap." Not even two seconds after the words come out of Sasuke's mouth, the door opens and a guy actually sticks his head directly under the falling eraser. Really? This guy is supposed to be a Jounin? What happened to the common sense of looking up to make sure you're at the right room?

He's such an—oh shit. I blink in surprise. That's…Hatake Kakashi! The Copy Ninja. I've heard about him both from stories my parents used to tell me about the Shinobi outside of Amegakure and researching the Third Ninja War. He's supposed to be such an amazingly strong ninja…and he just walked into one of the simplest booby traps imaginable?

"Hm, how should I put this? Based on my first impression, I'd have to say…I hate you." Well that was harsh. And all because Uzumaki landed a trap against him. It was his own damn fault for not looking up. He scans us for a moment before turning and waving for us to follow him. Ugh, this is going to be more of a pain than I originally thought.

We all follow him up to the roof and he sits on the rail while we sit on the steps. "Now, I'd like you all to tell us a little about yourselves." Oh this routine. Well, at least he hasn't made us all sit in a circle to do this—that happened when we were all six. I sigh a little and notice that I'm having to stretch my legs out to be comfortable while the others don't. Okay, I think of very random things when I'm bored. I need to focus.

"Like what?" Haruno asks, clearly confused. Okay, does she _not_ remember this whole gig from when we all started in school? Seriously, is Sasuke the only intelligent person on this roof besides me?

"You know the usual. Your favorite thing, what you hate most, dreams, ambitions, hobbies. Things like that." Well this will certainly be interesting.

"Help us out here, sensei. You go first; show us how it's done." Show…? Ugh! Uzumaki is more of an idiot than I thought! Seriously, you want the guy to do it first, just say so instead of beating around the bush.

"That's right; after all, you're a complete stranger to us. A mystery." Finally, she says something intelligent. I swear these guys are annoying, and I haven't been on the same team as them for a whole _day_ yet!

"Oh, me? I'm Hatake Kakashi. I'm the kind of person who doesn't feel like talking about his likes and dislikes! My dreams for the future are none of your business. But anyway, I have lots of hobbies…" All he told us was his _name_! I need to get out of here…I'm surrounded by lunatics! "Now it's your turn, starting with you on the right." I look around and realize he's talking about me.

"Me, right?" He nods and I sigh, leaning back on my hands. "The name's Izuri Kiro. I don't see that it's really useful for anyone to know my likes, dislikes, or hobbies. My dream—or rather ambition—is to remove those who betray me from the world." Kakashi gives me a weird look.

"Meaning?" I shrug.

"It's not important." He sighs and looks at Uzumaki.

"Okay. Next." Uzumaki perks up a bit.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto! What I like is instant cup ramen! What I like even better is when Iruka-sensei treats me to ramen at Ichiraku Ramen Bar! What I hate is the three minute wait after I pour in the boiling water. And my dream is to become an even greater Hokage than all the rest! And then all the villagers will have to acknowledge my existence at last! My hobbies are pranks and practical jokes, I guess." Okay, he's obsessed with ramen and wants to be Hokage…well, anything's possible.

"Next!" Sasuke sighs a little.

"Uchiha Sasuke. There are plenty of things I hate, but I don't see that it matters considering there is almost nothing I do like. It seems pointless to talk about 'dreams', that's just a word. But what I do have is determination. I plan to restore my clan. And there's someone I've sworn to kill." Sasuke says coldly, glancing sideways at me. He's talking about his brother, Itachi. And he knows that I was talking about the man as well when I said 'those who betray me'.

"And finally, the young lady." Haruno beams.

"I'm Haruno Sakura. My favorite thing is…well it's not a thing, it's a person. A boy…and that boy is…" She glances back and forth between me and Sasuke—oy vey, it will definitely be interesting shooting her down later on—and she blushes. I'd hate to think of what sort of fantasy that's going through her head. "Uh, let's move on to my dream…" Her blush deepens and I almost gag, knowing that her mind is very quickly going into a very deep gutter that should only involve adults.

Too bad I can't scream at her that I'm a girl and she's acting like a homosexual freak. The only person that knows my secret—and probably will only ever be—Sasuke. "I hate…Naruto. My hobbies are…" She blushes again and continues glancing between me and Sasuke.

"Enough." Kakashi stops her there and I almost sigh in relief. I mean really, how shallow can you be that the only thing that occupies your life is guys? "I believe we all understand one another. Formal training begins tomorrow."

"Yes sir! What will our duties be? Or first real Shinobi mission!" Uzumaki snaps back from his mild depression at Haruno's comment. Well, at least he doesn't let things bother him for very long.

"Our first project involves only the members of this cell." I have a bad feeling about this. Be just our luck he's going to put us through some sort of survival test to get a grip on our current skills.

"What is it?" Clearly Uzumaki has no sense of foreboding as he's just bouncing in his seat and acting like an idiot.

"Survival exercises." Really? We had plenty of that in school. Though my hunch was correct. Man I am just not lucky today. I sigh a little and look at the sky, ignoring the speech for the most part. I catch the important details, like what time and where we're supposed to meet—the practice field at five. He dismisses us and I start walking. "Hey." I stop and turn to face Kakashi.

"What?" He shrugs.

"You're from that clan right? The clan that was slaughtered in Amegakure six years ago by that kid." I frown and narrow my eyes.

"What would you know about things in Amegakure?" He nods a little.

"So you are. Just wondering." I nod and leave. Man that was weird. I sigh a little and shove my hands in my pockets. I spot Sasuke outside the school when I get there and walk over.

"So?" Damn. I'd almost forgotten about going to talk with him.

"Is there somewhere more private we can talk?" He nods and starts walking.

"Yea, my place. Come on." I nod and follow him.


	4. Past

**4- Past**

Okay. I seriously am daunted by how short my chapters are! I'm seriously disappointed in myself that I used to think that less than a thousand words made a chapter. I'm trying to make them longer and more understandable, so just bear with me. And sorry about the previous lack of time markers.

. . .

We walk silently to a deserted corner of the village. When we pass under the faded entry gate with the Uchiha clan seal on it, I wonder why they were so secluded from the rest of the village. I mean seriously. The Hyuuga are kind of reclusive and secretive, but they're not this far away from the rest of the village. No wonder Sasuke mentioned growing up lonely.

Sasuke leads me down the road to the largest house in the area and opens the door. Oh right, his dad was the head of the family…I'd forgotten about that. As I take my shoes off in the entryway, I look around to see that there isn't any sort of decoration whatsoever. Just a table in the middle of the hall with a vase of flowers on top. That must be where his parents died.

"Um…is that…?" I start, looking for verification of my theory despite not having the heart to finish the question.

"The spot where my parents died." He says that so coldly…I still have issues thinking about my parents. I don't think I'd be able to walk past the place they died all the time without breaking down. I lean against the wall and sigh. "What?"

"It's nothing." He's either just putting on a tough act or he's really that cold when it comes to his parents. "So, what do you want to know first?"

"Actually, I've been wondering since you came to the village. Where are you from?" I sigh. Straight to the point.

"Amegakure. My parents were great Shinobi there—the whole clan was, really." He nods slowly and we head into the living room to sit at a table.

"What happened to make you leave?" I pause, leaning on the table a little.

"One day…my mom was training me with kunai and I cut my finger on one of the weapons. When I saw the blood…all I really remember was Oka-san taking my hand to clean the cut…I attacked her—I couldn't control my body at all. She retaliated—the only natural response for that, really. After that…I blacked out and when I woke up, I was covered in blood and every member of the clan was killed.

"I don't know if they came running to see what the commotion was and got caught up in it or what. All I know is that I had barely managed to clean up and get a little away from the village when the black ops guys started chasing me. I barely managed to cross the border when Hiro-kun and…" I trail off, not really wanting to say Itachi's name aloud. Not here in this house where he killed his parents not but a few meters from where I'm sitting.

"Oh." Six years ago…well, even thinking about Itachi is a bad thing with both of us I guess.

"Anyways. After that, I was allowed to stay with Hiro-kun and the Hyuuga. But you already knew that." He nods a little.

"And they thought you were a guy?" I nod once.

"I'm not sure why though! Actually, I can kind of understand. Even when I was little, I acted more like a boy than a girl. The only ones that really remembered I was a girl were my parents and siblings. And I don't think they were able to come up with a more feminine name when I was born. Well, with three brothers it's kind of understandable they'd have issues having a daughter." He blinks in surprise.

"So, Kiro is your real name?" I nod.

"Of course. I was six when I came. I wouldn't have come up with a fake name. If I had had the courage that day, I would have said outright that I was a girl." He laughs a little.

"So why didn't you?" I shrug.

"I was terrified. I didn't know what happened, I didn't know if it would happen again. I was afraid that the ninja from Amegakure would come looking for me and tell everyone in Konoha what I did and that I would get turned in. And on top of it all, I was terrified of the guys that found me."

"Why?" I sigh.

"Think about it. A six year old, running for your life, and you get found by two guys that carry themselves the same as the ones chasing you. Wouldn't you be terrified too?" He shrugs.

"I guess." And on top of all that, Neji was—well, he still kind of is—pretty scary. "But…you're not scared anymore. Right?" I nod and frown a little.

"Um, Sasuke. You're acting different. Is it because you know I'm a girl?"

"Yea, I guess." I laugh and look at the ceiling.

"Hey Sasuke?"

"What?" I shake my head a little and look at him.

"I'm not trying to pry or anything, but…did he tell you…why?" He sighs a little, clenching his fist.

"He said it was to measure his capacity." I nod slowly. That sounds like something he'd say—even if slaughtering the clan still doesn't. "Why?"

"Earlier…you said that you swore to kill someone. It's him, right?" He nods once.

"It's late…" I look at the clock on the wall. It reads five forty-five. I jump up and bolt to the door.

"Shit! See you in the morning!" I run out of the house and at top speed to the main road. Shit. I stop running and look around. How the hell do I get home from here? Maybe if I can quickly get to the academy from here, I can get home that way.

Gah! Either way, I'm screwed! I'll be _so_ late for dinner! I start running towards the school and spot a familiar name on a street marker. I can cut down that road and get home quicker—I recognize the name from passing it on the way to school in the mornings. So I hang a right down that road and bolt to the road the compound is on. I hand another right when I get there and barely make it into the main house and to the dinner table in time for dinner—one minute to spare.

"You were almost late, Kiro-kun. Hanging out with your new teammates?" I nod a little to Hiro.

"Yea." Hiyashi clears his throat a little.

"What took you so long to get here, Kiro-kun?" I sigh and sit down next to Neji.

"I got lost." Neji smirks at me.

"Really? Where were you guys hanging out?" I shrug a little.

"Over by the Uchiha place." Hiro nods a little.

"Oh, how's Sasuke-kun doing?" Neji looks at me curiously.

"Since when did you become friends with that guy?" I frown.

"If I'm just gonna get interrogated, I'm not gonna say anything." I put my hands on the table. "I'm not hungry. I'm going to bed." I get up and go to my room. What the heck was up with the interrogation? I'm just having an all-around shitty day.

I go into the bathroom when I get to the room and turn on the water. "Shit. I forgot my pajamas." I mutter to myself, going back into the room to grab my pajamas off of my bed. With the clothes securely in my arms, I go back into the bathroom and lock the door. I strip and sigh in relief when I get all of the bandages off—around my chest, and on my right hand and left ankle. At this rate I'll be passing out from trouble breathing. I pull my hair down and get in the shower.

"Hey Kiro-kun, I need the shampoo. Are you done with it?" I gasp and grab Neji's shampoo.

"Yea, here." I push my hand around the curtain to hand him the bottle.

"Why do you always lock the door?" I growl and look around the curtain a little to glare at him.

"Privacy! Get out!" He shrugs and leaves, closing the door. Once he's gone, I sigh and lean on the wall. Man it's a good thing I had the curtain closed. He seriously would have seen…I look down at myself and blush brightly. I shake my head a little and finish my shower.

Once I finish rinsing, I turn off the water and grab a towel. I start drying my hair with the towel as I step out. The door flies open and I gasp, fumbling to cover with the towel. Well, Neji just got an eyeful.

"Um…" He flushes a bit and leaves the room quickly. I slump to the floor and bang my head against the wall a few times. I'm screwed. No, I'm worse than screwed. I'm _fucked_! Ugh I have to fix this somehow. So, I quickly dry off, wrap up, and get in my pajamas.

"Well, now he knows why I take so long in the shower." I sigh and leave the bathroom. There's Neji, sitting on his bed covering his face. "Um…Neji-kun…?"

"Question. Why did you lie about being a guy?" I sigh. Straight to the point.

"I didn't lie. You guys just assumed and I couldn't bring up the courage to say that I'm a girl. Please…don't tell anyone." He looks at me.

"Why shouldn't I?" I pause and look at the floor.

"I…don't want to get chased away from my home again." He nods a little.

"Oh. It's no problem. Oh, uh, Hiyashi-sama wanted to talk to you." I nod and leave the room, cursing myself. I'm such a klutz today! Two people found out—and within eight hours too. At this rate I may as well come out with it and get ready to get run out or worse. I head for the study and take a deep breath when the door comes into view.

It's one thing to see him at the dinner table or train with him in the room…but to have him actually send someone to tell me that he wants to talk to him. That's bad. I open the door a crack. "You wanted to speak with me, Hiyashi-sama?"

"Oh, Kiro-kun, come in." I go into the study and wait for him to say something. I need to calm down. What's the worst he could say after all? "It's been six years since you arrived." I nod once. "And now you've graduated." I nod yet again.

Where is he going with this? It's more than a little unsettling. "I think it's high time you found a place of your own." I stare at him blankly. Not the _worst_ thing he could have said, but almost as bad.

"What?"

"As a graduate, and a Genin of Konoha, you can now be considered as an adult. And therefor, at the point when you need to strike out on your own." Strike out…? I'm sure my mouth is hanging open in pure shock right now. I'm only _twelve_ for pity's sake! "You should start looking for a place to stay outside this compound. I'll be looking forward to your results tomorrow." I gasp.

"Tomorrow?" Immediately after the word leaves my mouth, I cover the offensive part. It is _not_ a good idea to raise your voice against Hiyashi. And that's just what I did. He nods once, apparently choosing to ignore my mini-outburst.

"Yes. It's short notice, but you should get a new place as soon as possible. Especially considering certain things." I nod and he dismisses me with a wave of his hand. I leave the room and lean against the wall. What a turn of events.

What 'certain things' though? He couldn't already—no, if he already knows that I'm a girl, he would have said something…right? I shake my head a little and head back to my room. When I get there, I sit on my bed and start wracking my brain for a solution to this. I've got that exercise in the morning…I'm not very good with moku-bunshin just yet…so I wouldn't be able to use that to talk to the Hokage about an apartment or something while I'm doing that.

"Something wrong? What did Hiyashi-sama want?" I look up at Neji and smile a little. Looks like everything's back to normal in this room…for the moment.

"He wants me to start looking for another place to stay." His eyes go wide.

"Why? You didn't do anything wrong." I smirk and lean back to stare at the ceiling.

"He said that I'm 'at the point you need to strike out on your own.'" I mimic his tone from before and Neji sighs.

"How long did he give you to find a place?" I sigh and lay down.

"He wants to know my progress tomorrow."

"Do you have any plans tomorrow?" I nod a little and get up to turn my sheets back.

"My team…we're doing our first exercise together. It'll probably take all day." Oh! I could ask Sasuke if I could stay with him! And that would also help with the constriction on my breathing—I could let loose around him because he already knows I'm a girl. "I need to get some rest. I have to meet up with them at five." Neji nods and we both lay down.

"Hey, Kiro-kun?" I roll over to look at him.

"What?" He shakes his head a little, staring at the ceiling.

"Nothing. I'll make sure that you're up in time to get there." I smile a little and roll back over.

"Thanks." With that, and a plan to talk to Sasuke at some point tomorrow about staying with him, I close my eyes and go to sleep.


	5. Test

**5- Test**

Yay! I made this one longer! And seriously, reviews are really nice. I'm thinking about turning on the anonymous reviews so more people can review if they want. Even flames will make me happy so long as I know that people are actually reading the story (just remember that flames will be used to roast 'mallows and wiener-burgers).

. . .

"Good morning guys!" I run over to the others and notice that Kakashi isn't here yet. Odd…I know I got lost and was running late.

"Kiro-kun, you're late." I sigh a little. Haruno's right, though it _should_ be Kakashi complaining about that. But where the hell is he? I seriously hope this won't be a regular thing…him being late.

"Sorry, I actually got lost on the way here. I took a wrong turn and couldn't find my way." Uzumaki scoffs.

"That's a lame excuse." I shrug and sit down. It's his business if he chooses to believe that it's just an excuse. I really did get lost—it happens a lot, I admit.

"Didn't Kakashi-sensei say to bring all of our tools?" I smile a little at Haruno and pull a scroll out of the holder on my leg.

"This is all I need." She raises an eyebrow, confused.

"Really?" I nod and set it on the ground, glancing at the rather oversized bags she and Uzumaki have. On a real mission, that kind of baggage would seriously inhibit you and your team. I put my hands in the sign 'Mi' and the scroll grows to full size. I lift it off the ground and smirk.

"It's a pain to carry it at this size. I've got all of my weapons sealed in this." I use my free hand to form the one-handed version of the sign and slip the scroll back into its holder when it shrinks. I look around again, but I don't even sense a _hint_ at Kakashi's presence. I'm an hour late, and he's not here yet? What kind of Jounin is Kakashi anyways?

Not a very reliable—or punctual—one, that's for certain.

. . .

"Good morning guys!" Uzumaki and Haruno jump up when Kakashi _finally_ shows up. It's been an hour since I got here…man we have a shitty instructor.

"YOU'RE LATE!" He touches the back of his head a little and pulls out an alarm.

"I've set this alarm to go off at noon. Here I have three small bells. Your challenge is to steal these from me before the timer sounds. Anyone who fails doesn't get lunch. Instead, you'll be tied to that tree stump so I can eat your lunch in front of you." All of the others' stomachs growl and I suddenly regret grabbing that roll before I left.

Well, in my defense, I didn't eat dinner last night—and it was a really small roll. Kakashi keeps chattering and Uzumaki suddenly goes into a frenzy about something. Honestly, I'm just waiting for Kakashi to say 'go' so we can get this over with.

"Hey Sasuke?" He looks at me, also apparently ignoring the prattle.

"What?" I sigh a little.

"I'm getting kicked out of the Hyuuga place. Can I stay with you?" He nods once.

"Sure, I have an extra room you can stay in. Why are you getting kicked out? Did they figure you out?" I shake my head a little, trying not to flush.

"Neji did, but that was inevitable since we're roommates. But it's because I'm a Genin now." He smirks.

"Well, if we fail this, we go back to school." I smirk as well.

"Then I just can't fail then."

"What are you two whispering about?" We both look at Kakashi and I step back.

"Nothing important. Are we gonna start this, or not?" Kakashi nods once.

"Right. You may, if you choose, use Shuriken. Attack as though you mean to kill or you don't stand a chance." Haruno gasps.

"But that's so dangerous!" Honestly, it should be expected—we're not in academy anymore, we can't train without some danger involved. Uzumaki only laughs—I don't think he really gets it.

"You couldn't even dodge an eraser! You're gonna get yourself killed!" I groan a little.

"Must you talk so big, Uzumaki?" He glares at me and Kakashi sighs. I roll my eyes a little.

"Only the weak speak loudly. Now let's forget the dunce and we'll start on my signal." Why does the truth piss Uzumaki off so much? Does he honestly think he's smarter than he acts? Hell, if he doesn't want to be called a dunce, he should stop acting like one.

The idiot actually pulls out a kunai and gets ready to attack Kakashi. For a split second, Kakashi vanishes, reappearing behind Uzumaki to stop his attack. "Not so fast. I didn't say go. But at least you struck to kill. So it seems you've begun to respect me." How does Uzumaki trying to attack him equal us respecting Kakashi?

I don't understand men sometimes. "Maybe, just maybe, I'm starting to like you four. Now…ready, steady, go!" We all jump for cover. I crouch on a branch in a tree and watch Kakashi, reaching into my pocket for the second roll I got on my way out. I am seriously hungry since I didn't eat last night.

How to handle this…? Three bells…and four of us. One will be tied to the stump no matter what happens. I notice Uzumaki making a fuss and roll my eyes. Idiot.

Let's see…if I can catch Kakashi off guard—no, that would reveal my location and set me up for a trap. If I run in to help Uzumaki, no doubt we'll both fail. It would be a different story if there was a guarantee that Haruno and Sasuke would come help, but that's doubtful. I'm sure that Haruno is only worried about finding Sasuke to try and flirt, and Sasuke is only going to help himself in this situation.

I sigh and look down to see how badly Uzumaki is getting his ass kicked and gasp. Kakashi's behind him, with his hands in the sign of Tora. That seal is usually used in Katon. There's no way Uzumaki would survive a fire technique from that close range!

"Naruto! Get out of there! You'll be killed!" Haruno shouts, giving away her position in order to warn Uzumaki. What an idiot! She's so close to Kakashi in position that he could literally just turn a little and hit her. She got such good grades on written tests in academy, but yet she's this stupid in the field? We'd all be dead.

"1000 years of death!" My eye twitches as Kakashi literally does a Kancho and shoves chakra up Uzumaki's ass to send him flying! Gods we got stuck with a weird instructor. I have an idea. But I can't pull it off alone. So, I find Sasuke and sneak up beside him.

"If we work together to get him down, we can probably get those bells." He jolts a little and blinks at me.

"Huh?" I sigh.

"Just listen. He's not letting his guard down. I've got a plan." He nods a little.

"Okay. I'm listening." I smirk and nod towards Kakashi.

"Wait here. When he lets his guard down, attack." He looks at me like I'm crazy.

"But that would—"

"I'm not finished." I sigh, cutting him off. "The whole point is to give away your position. I'll be further into the trees setting a trap. Lead him to that spot and spring the trap. After that, one—or both—of us can probably fight him to get a bell." He nods once.

"Good idea." I smile a little and run through the trees, looking for a good spot to set the traps. At least Sasuke's willing to work as a team with me. I find a small clearing and nod a little. This should be a good spot.

I stop running and summon one of my knife sets—glad that I remembered the seal that was on the family armory back in Amegakure. I set the trap, careful to avoid getting cut. I really need to be more careful—especially after the mystery cut from yesterday. I finish setting the traps and hide behind a rock.

I watch and listen for signs of Sasuke and Kakashi and smirk when they come into the clearing and set of the first of the traps. Kakashi barely manages to dodge it and looks purely surprised as he almost gets hit by the set of needles that flies at him before he gets steadied. I guess I did well with guessing which direction he'd dodge the first trap.

Now, how can I help out Sasuke and we get at least one of the bells? Ah! The book he was reading is a perv book. I grin mischievously and use—shameful as it is to use _that_ jutsu when I'm already a girl—Uzumaki's 'Sexy Jutsu'. Well, at least I'm in a bikini and not fully nude—not that the bikini leaves much to the imagination. Even with my hair still in a ponytail, I doubt that Kakashi will recognize me.

"Shit." I smirk at Kakashi's surprise…he seriously wasn't expecting more than one trap to be set I guess. I stretch a little and carefully plan for the right moment to step out and do this. Sasuke's doing fairly well, but when Kakashi goes for what I'm fairly sure is a water technique, I decide that it's the right moment. I take a deep breath and step around the rock.

"Excuse me, I seem to be lost." Kakashi stares at me, not recognizing me at all—and probably imagining me naked.

"Where are you trying to go?" I put my hands behind my back and arch my back a bit to push out my breasts—I shudder at the word—seductively. Sasuke smirks behind Kakashi, perfectly recognizing me, and probably mentally shaking his head at my display.

"Well, I'm not really sure…" Kakashi sighs a little and I lean towards him with a silly little smile on my face, batting my eyes in an attempt to seem cute and stupid.

"Hold on just a second and I'll help you out." I nod and beam, clasping my hands in front of me and squeezing my breasts together with my arms.

"Thank you so much~!" He turns around, completely off guard, and I lower my hands. I smile and release the technique, going quickly through a series of hand signs. "Got you. Wood style! Binding Roots!" He whirls on me in surprise just as roots spring from the ground and twist around his legs. Sasuke takes the opportunity to use a fire technique and I ready myself in anticipation of Kakashi's counterattack—as I'm sure he's escaped our assault somehow.

Sure enough, when the air clears, Kakashi is nowhere to be seen.

"Where did he go?" I frown and scan the area. He's not up, to the right, left, or behind…so the only other option is…down! I start gathering chakra.

"Sasuke, jump into a tree." He blinks in surprise.

"Why?" I shake my head a little and get ready to punch as the chakra in my hand turns to stone.

"If you don't want to get hurt, hurry." He nods and jumps just as I slam my fist into the ground, exposing Kakashi as a fissure forms and rocks fly. "Found you." I use my free hand to form a series of signs. "Earth style, trapping fissure." A cone of rock forms around him, leaving his face exposed and his body trapped. Suddenly, he disappears again and I whirl around at the sound of a rock shifting.

I narrow my eyes and catch his punch before swinging my leg around to retaliate. As I fight hand-to-hand with him for a few minutes, I realize that I'm using Amegakure style moves, but at least I get close to getting two bells. My finger brushes the bells and he shoves me back, putting a bit of distance between us. He vanishes and Sasuke jumps out of the tree to stand beside me.

"Where did he go?" I shake my head, looking around.

"I'm not sure. Unless he's—"

"Earth style, headhunter jutsu!" A hand grabs my ankle and pulls the both of us underground to our necks.

"Shit!" Sasuke gasps.

"—Under us again." I groan. Kakashi crouches in front of us for a moment.

"You were right. Both of you are different." With that, he walks off. Sasuke growls.

"Shit. How are we gonna catch up?" I shake my head a little, trying to gage how just how much chakra I have left. Enough to handle this I think. I push chakra out of my entire body, destroying the earth surrounding me enough to rotate. "Hakke, rotation." I spin quickly and jump out of the hole. Unfortunately, I had to limit the size of the rotation to keep from hurting Sasuke.

"What the—? Sakura." I turn to see Haruno step out of the bushes and she blinks at Sasuke. She screams and faints. I roll my eyes a little.

"What's up with her?" He sighs.

"I'm not sure…" He looks me over. "How did you do that? And could you help a little?" I smirk.

"Got it!" He braces himself and I punch the ground in front of him hard. He sighs in relief and I help him climb out.

"Thanks." I shrug and watch Haruno. She wakes up and Sasuke actually crouches beside her—guess he can get concerned about others after all, I was beginning to wonder.

"Oy. You okay?" She looks back and forth between us and glomps the closest one to her—Sasuke.

"Sakura-san…" She backs up and puts her hands in her lap. I sigh and turn.

"C'mon, we're running out of time."

"If we're out of time…maybe we should just give up? There's always next time…" Haruno says quietly. I turn and glare at her. Sasuke is also glaring at her.

"No way." I shake my head.

"I'm going ahead. I almost got those bells, next time we go at him, we can get them." I walk off and hear the timer go off after I get a few meters away from the clearing. Fuck. I turn and run to the stumps to see that Uzumaki is already tied up. Damn the morning went by quickly.


	6. Fail

**6- Fail**

This is really slow in coming I've noticed…but I'm also working on Secret Summoner and Dark Blade and a couple of others that I'm editing and/or rewriting. And there's also the fact that I have a full time job—not that it's really stopping me from working (we're so dead usually that if I bring my laptop with me to work I can sit in the back and write for most of the time I'm there).

. . .

Haruno and Sasuke catch up with me and we sit down, stomachs grumbling. So none of us got a bell. This seriously sucks. And I'm still hungry despite the two rolls I ate earlier.

"Oh my, listen to all the stomachs growling. By the way, you four. I have an announcement, about this exercise. None of you need to worry anymore about being sent back to the academy." What does that mean? No one got a bell so he can't be planning to pass us. But why wouldn't we need to worry about going back to the academy otherwise?

"Yea! This rocks! It means all four of us—!" Uzumaki starts, getting excited.

"Are hopeless." What? Was he not paying attention to the high level techniques I used and the fact that Sasuke and I both nearly got bells from him? Sasuke grabs my shoulder suddenly, probably sensing the murderous intent in my glare. "More schooling would be pointless. None of you will ever be Shinobi!"

"What do you mean give up! Give me a break! Okay, so maybe none of us got our hands on one of your stupid bells! But why the heck should we quit over that?" Okay, Uzumaki has a point. But why the hell is Kakashi going this far? Oh shit. The exercise had a point besides getting the bells.

"Because, not one of you has what it takes." I grab Sasuke's shoulder, to stop him from attacking Kakashi, but he gets up and attacks anyways. Dust flies and I wait for it to clear. "What you are is a group of spoiled brats." The dust clears to reveal that Kakashi has Sasuke pinned to the ground with one foot on the back of his head. Haruno stands up.

"Don't step on Sasuke! Get off of him!" Honesty…she probably wouldn't be doing that if it was Uzumaki in that position. All she cares about is trying to date Sasuke.

"Are you trying to make fun of the Shinobi with your behavior? Well, are you? Did you even stop to wonder for one minute why you were divided into teams?" I should have known from the beginning. It's one of the things that Neji talks about most when he's talking about his team—teamwork.

"Excuse me?" I get up and lean on one of the stumps, feeling more than a little stupid. I guess I knew it the whole time, but I knew that the only one who'd even _consider_ helping me would be Sasuke.

"Obviously not. Though it looks like you figured out part of it, Izuri. But you still missed the point of the exercise." I roll my eyes. He just had to say that, didn't he?

"It had a point?" Uzumaki _still_ doesn't get it? Is he really that dense?

"Of course. And that point determines whether or not you would succeed." Haruno sighs.

"But you haven't explained it to us." I groan a little.

"I don't believe this…" Uzumaki blinks and starts kicking his legs.

"Aw come on! Tell us already!" I roll my eyes and wait for Kakashi to actually say it.

"It's teamwork." He sighs after a long moment and I look up. Running? Then I see Neji running towards us. The look on his face…something's wrong.

"Kiro-kun!" I straighten up.

"Neji-kun, what's up?" He motions for me to come over and I run to see what's wrong.

"It's Hiro. Have you seen him?" I frown and shake my head.

"No. I've been here all day. What happened?" I can't help the note of worry in my voice. Hiro is like an older brother to me…and the look on Neji's face has me really worried.

"He's missing. Hiyashi-sama has half the clan out looking for him." My heart drops into my stomach.

"Since when…?" He shakes his head a little.

"No one knows. We've been searching since dawn. He didn't show up for breakfast, and he wasn't in his room. Not even the ANBU know where he is. _And_ he wasn't expected for any missions anytime soon." I set my mouth in a frown.

"Once I'm dismissed here, I'll help look."

"What about your place?" I shake my head a little.

"I've made arrangements with Uchiha." Neji nods slowly, glancing towards my team.

"See you later then." I grab his wrist before he can leave.

"Hey, you'll let me know if…" He nods.

"Yea. Everyone knows that you and he have been like brothers since you got here. Someone will let you know if something comes up." I nod and force a smile.

"Thanks." I let go of his wrist and he runs off. I shake my head a little and force myself to seem indifferent. Hopefully Kakashi will give us a second chance. And if that's the case, I can't be distracted by this. But if Hiro…I seriously hope nothing bad happened to him.

I turn and walk back over to the stumps to see that Kakashi has vanished. He's probably nearby, keeping an eye on us. "What did I miss?" Haruno smiles at me.

"We have a second chance after lunch. And we're not allowed to give any food to Naruto." I nod slowly and sit down. I grab a bento and Sasuke clears his throat a little.

"What did Neji want?" I stare at the lunch in my hands and sigh.

"Hiro-kun is missing." Sasuke stares at me, probably gaging my expression. I'm trying my hardest to seem like it's not bothering me as much as it really is.

"Who?" Haruno asks. I glance at her.

"Hyuuga Hiro. When…the Hyuuga took me in…he's practically my big brother. Neji wanted to know if I'd seen him around today."

"How long has he been missing?" I shrug a little.

"He was at supper last night, but was gone this morning. Sometime in the night, I'd guess." Sasuke nods slowly.

"Do you need help looking for him?" I shake my head.

"Not yet. So, we need to work together to get those bells right?" Haruno and Sasuke both nod. I take a bite of my food. "Then here." I grab another bite with my chopsticks and shove it in Uzumaki's mouth.

"Kiro-kun! Sensei said not to give him any!" I roll my eyes.

"Haruno-san. Think about it. If we're working together from here on, if one of us is hungry, it will hinder all of us. At that point, there would be no point in even trying." Sasuke nods and holds up his bento.

"Here." Haruno debates for a moment before offering hers as well. Uzumaki tears up a little.

"Thanks." Something explodes behind me and I turn, dropping my lunch and going on the defensive. What now? I pull my scroll out and start to open it.

"You…" Haruno flinches, while Uzumaki almost screams. Sasuke, however, grabs a kunai and joins me in the defensive. I enlarge my scroll and watch Kakashi, who just appeared out of nowhere. "Pass!" That surprises all of us.

"We pass? But why? You just said…" Kakashi laughs a little.

"You four have just taken a giant step forward." That confuses Haruno even more. Hell, _I'm_ confused. Silently, I shrink my scroll down and put it away.

"How?"

"Up till now, all any of you have done is listen unquestioningly to everything I say, like mindless little drones. A true Shinobi seeks for the hidden meanings within hidden meanings. In a ninja's world, those who violate the rules and fail to follow orders are lower than garbage. However, those who do not care for their and support their fellows are even lower than that." Makes sense—Hiro told me that once, a long time ago.

So since we decided to feed Naruto despite being ordered otherwise, we passed the test of teamwork—how, I don't understand, but hey. "This exercise is now concluded. You all pass. That's all for today, Team 7. Your duties will commence tomorrow!" Sasuke and Haruno pick up their bags and start walking. I start in the opposite direction, to start looking for Hiro.

"I did it! I'm a ninja! Ninja, ninja, ninja!" Uzumaki shouts excitedly—I guess he's so excited that he's forgotten that he's tied up.

"Let's go home!" Kakashi laughs.

"Hey guys! I'm still tied up here! GUYS?" Sasuke catches up with me, laughing a little at Uzumaki's stupidity.

"Are you going to help look for him?" I nod a little.

"Yea. I'll see you later." He nods and I start running.

"Hey! Let me know if you need any help finding him!" I wave to acknowledge and leave.


	7. Moving

**7- Moving**

Sorry it's taken so long with this chapter. I've been working on other stories…but anyways, here goes.

. . .

I make it to the river and look around. This is where I saw traces of Hiro's chakra, but no one's here. Or not. Someone just washed up on the bank. I run over.

"Oy! What are you—?" I get closer and see the defining features—his short cropped black hair, the flame emblem on his sleeve, and the Hitai-ate on his forehead. My stomach churns and I hope against hope that he's alive. "Hiro-kun!" I drop to my knees beside him and shake his shoulder.

He doesn't respond. "Hiro-kun! Are you okay?" He still doesn't respond and I bite my lip. No! Frantically, I check for a pulse. This is impossible!

I can't find a pulse…and even worse I can't see any chakra flowing through his body. I reach to pull his Hitai-ate off and pause when my fingers brush the cold metal. Do I really want to see that final proof? Why does it bother me so much to confirm what I already know?

I shake my head and pull it off his forehead. I freeze, seeing that the mark is truly gone. I need to let someone know…but I can't find my voice or the will to move. So I just wait. After what feels like forever, the bushes nearby rustle and I look over. One of the Hyuuga emerges from the tree line and blinks at me. I swallow a little. "I found him!" My voice cracks and I try not to start crying.

"Hey! He's over here! Thanks, Kiro-kin." I nod and two more of the family show up. They all slide down the bank and pick up Hiro. Once they leave, I start crying with my head in my hands.

"I thought I'd find you here. Come on, you need to get your stuff." I look up at the sound of Neji's voice and quickly wipe my face, trying to stop crying.

"Neji-kun…" He crouches beside me and smirks.

"Hey, you're acting like a girl. You're a guy, remember? You can't just go around crying. Even if he was like family." I nod and wipe my face again.

"Right. Thanks." I get up and we head home. I'm still having trouble trying not to break down in hysterics, but I think I can manage. Luckily, I don't have much stuff. We get to the house and try to ignore the hustle and bustle going on as people run around in the wake of Hiro's death.

"Maybe you should take it easy for a few days, at least until you can think straight." I nod a little and keep walking. We get to our room and I start shoving my few things into a bag. Neji sits on his bed and sighs. "Hey, what's your real name?"

"Kiro." I tie the bag off and double check that I've got everything.

"Really?" I nod and sit on the bed. I've got everything, but I need to calm down before I head to Sasuke's.

"Yea. My parents were idiots, I think—at least in the naming department." I pause. "I guess I'll head out." He nods and I get up.

"Oh. Okay. Don't get lost." I shrug and shoulder my bag.

"I won't. Thanks for putting up with me." He nods and I leave. I know I said I wouldn't get lost, but I've only been to Sasuke's once. And my sense of direction sucks ninety percent of the time, so that isn't in my favor.

"Find a place already?" I jump a little and turn to face Hiyashi.

"Hiyashi-sama! Um, yes, I have." He nods a little.

"Good." He walks past me and I shiver a little. He's so cold most of the time. I shake my head and walk out of the compound. It's kind of depressing to hang around—since everyone I passed was already starting on funeral preparations. I sigh and start walking down the street.

After a while, I stop walking. I think I turned the wrong way at some point. Damn it! I'm always doing this! I sigh and look around to figure out where I am. To be honest, I have no idea where I am.

"Lost?" I nod in response to Kakashi's question and turn to face him.

"Kakashi-sensei. What are you doing here?" He shrugs casually.

"Just wandering. What about you?" I shrug just as casually.

"Actually, I was headed over to Sasuke's place and got lost." He laughs a little.

"You get lost a lot, right?" I nod a little.

"Yea." He nods a little and then glares at me.

"That was a dirty trick this morning." I frown.

"Eh?" He shakes his head and points.

"Go back that way and turn left down the 'Sakura'. Then turn left at the main road." I give him a look.

"Um…thanks…" I run down the road. Okay, he's kind of scary when he's angry. I find the road and turn, still running. I finally make it to the entrance of the Uchiha area and stop running. Now which house is Sasuke's? Gah I feel stupid.

"Hey. Any luck with the search?" I look over to see Sasuke waking over.

"Oh, Sasuke. Yea." I look down, I'm still trying to stay calm about that.

"Oh. Who found him?" I sigh a little.

"Me." He blinks in surprise and starts walking.

"Oh…come on." I smile a little in thanks for him not talking about it. I don't think I'd be able to handle it if I had to actually talk about it. Once we get to Sasuke's house and go inside, I notice that he's a bit nervous. I put my bag down in the living room. "Um, bathrooms down that hall…" I laugh a little.

"I can figure it out. What are you nervous about?" There's no possible way he likes me, right? I mean seriously, he's only known that I'm really a girl for a day.

"Nothing." I roll my eyes and pick up my bag.

"Where can I put my stuff?" He points down the hall.

"Oh, down the hall, second door." I nod and go to the room. Looks like this could have been Itachi's room. Well, I bet that the room Sasuke's parents had is pretty much unused. I don't understand how he can stay in this house though. I know I wouldn't be able to. I drop my bag on the bed and notice a turned down picture frame on the desk.

Curious, I pick up the frame to look at the picture. A three man team with an instructor…Itachi's team from when he graduated academy? Those three kids can't be older than six. I recognize Itachi and Hiro, but not the third kid or the Jounin. Swallowing a little, I put the picture in a drawer and lock the bedroom door.

I figure since Sasuke knows I'm a girl, I can actually _be_ a girl around him. This will definitely be interesting. I open my bag and pull out some clean clothes—since the ones I'm wearing are covered in dirt and sweat—to change into. I strip and unclasp the bandages confining my chest.

"Ow." I gasp a little as the clasp digs into my finger. Immediately, I stick the digit in my mouth, hoping that it doesn't bleed much. After a moment, I pull my finger out of my mouth and examine it. Well, it's not bleeding anymore. Gah I'm clumsy. I shake my head and finish changing. I finish up and head back out into the front room.

"Isn't it uncomfortable?" I blink at Sasuke, surprised by the question. What on earth did he mean by that?

"What?"

"Pretending to be a guy. I mean, no offence but you're huge." I roll my eyes and fold my arms.

"What's that supposed to mean? You've only known that I'm a girl for twenty four hours and you're already measuring with your eyes?" He sighs a little and shakes his head.

"No, I'm just saying. You'd have to keep something wrapped pretty tight to hide _that_." He indicates my breast size and I sit down. Of all the things. "Hey, do…do you like anyone?" I blink in surprise and lift an eyebrow.

"Huh?" I think about it and laugh a little. "Oh, you mean like the way all those girls have been crushing on us since we started at academy?" He nods a little.

"Yea. I guess."

"You didn't notice them, did you?" He shakes his head with a shrug.

"Not really." I laugh again. "What?"

"Nothing. I'm sorry. I'm actually trying to cheer up quickly…" He frowns a little.

"Why?" I lean back on my hands and look at the ceiling.

"Hiro-kun was like a brother to me. And this afternoon…" I trail off, not wanting—not able to think about it. If I think about it, I'll break down again.

"So. You didn't answer my question." Sasuke says lightly, clearly trying to change the subject. I smile a little, grateful for that. "Oh, here." He pushed a plate of food across the table to me and I take it.

"Thanks. And…I don't think I like anyone like that…" I've always been one of the guys so I've never really thought about anyone like a girl would think about a guy. Sasuke smirks suddenly.

"You seemed pretty comfortable yesterday with Naruto. Even though you kept up your appearance and called him a homo." I blink.

"Eh?" Did I seem comfortable? I certainly didn't think so…but that was my first kiss.

"Yep." I frown.

"You're lying." He laughs.

"Oh come on. You know you like him." I growl.

"Keep it up, Sasuke." He grins.

"Or what? You know, you're not very intimidating looking like that." I narrow my eyes and punch him in the shoulder, hard.

"What was that…?" I growl through clenched teeth. I'm the tallest twelve year old in the village. I'd damn well better be intimidating to anyone shorter than me no matter how I'm dressed.

"Damn, you're moody." He rubs his shoulder. I laugh harshly and eat quickly.

"If you don't like it, I'm sure I can find another place to stay." He laughs as well.

"Like where? Sakura thinks you're a guy—and a pretty cute guy at that. She'll be trying to sneak into your room at night." I blanch.

"Ewe! Shut up!"

"And Naruto would kill you before letting you stay with him. And I think Kakashi-sensei's even pretty pissed at you." I nod a little.

"Yea, he is." He grins.

"Because of that show you put on earlier. Was that your version of Naruto's 'sexy jutsu'?" I roll my eyes.

"No. And if I hadn't done that, he would have been impossible to fight." He nods slowly.

"I wonder where he came up with that one thing he did to Naruto…" I shrug a little.

"All he did was shove chakra up Uzumaki's butt through the opening points in his fingers. It really wouldn't be that hard to do…if you had the right control of your chakra." He nods again.

"It's still kind of weird. And I was sitting there thinking that he was going to use a fire technique." We both laugh in agreement and finish eating. I get up to take my dishes to the kitchen sink.

"Hey Sasuke?" He gets up as well.

"What?"

"I think we're gonna be great friends." He nods in agreement as we go into the kitchen.

"Yea." I frown, noticing that he looks troubled by something.

"Something wrong?" He shakes his head.

"No. Thanks for your help earlier." I grin and start washing the dishes up.

"No problem."

. . .

Drop a review to let me know what you all think about the changes I made.


End file.
